West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka performs the controversial gesture after scoring against West Ham.Source: AFP

WEST Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka has been charged after making an allegedly anti-Semitic salute during a recent English Premier League match, the Football Association (FA) announced on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old French striker performed the 'quenelle' salute, putting one arm across his chest and straightening the other last month during West Brom's 3-3 draw at West Ham United.

"The FA has charged the West Bromwich Albion player Nicolas Anelka following an incident that occurred during the West Ham United versus West Bromwich Albion fixture at the Boleyn Ground on 28 December 2013," read a statement published on the FA website.

"It is alleged that, in the 40th minute of the fixture, Anelka made a gesture which was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, contrary to FA Rule E3(1).

"It is further alleged that this is an aggravated breach, as defined in FA Rule E3(2), in that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief."

Anelka has until Thursday evening (Friday morning AEDT) to respond to the charge.

If found guilty, he faces a minimum five-game suspension under new anti-discrimination measures introduced last May by the FA.

The 'quenelle', popularised by French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, has been described by critics in France as an inverted Nazi salute, but Anelka has insisted it was merely "a dedication" to the comic.

M'bala M'bala, better known simply as Dieudonne, says the gesture is anti-establishment and not anti-Semitic.

The FA's decision to charge Anelka, after a three-and-a-half-week investigation, came a day after West Brom's shirt sponsors, property website Zoopla, decided to end its association with the club.

British media reports suggested the company had called on West Brom to drop Anelka over the affair.

The former French international has continued to appear for the club despite the furore and played for 77 minutes on Monday in his side's 1-1 draw with Everton.

Anelka tackles Everton left back Leighton Baines in the 1-1 draw with West Brom at The Hawthorns.Source: Getty Images

NICOLAS ANELKA RAP SHEET

August 1998: Criticises Arsenal team-mate Marc Overmars for not passing the ball to him enough, telling a French newspaper: "I'm not getting enough of the ball. I'm going to see the manager soon because Overmars is too selfish."

May 1999: Laments his treatment at the hands of the British media, saying: "The one thing I can tell you is that I can't stand the English press, who cause me enormous problems on a personal level."

March 2000: A year after joining Real Madrid from Arsenal, Anelka falls out with coach Vicente del Bosque and is handed a 45-day suspension for refusing to train.

June 2002: After failing to secure a permanent transfer to Liverpool, following a season-long loan, Anelka blames the club's manager, Gerard Houllier. "It seems that Gerard Houllier did not appreciate my personality," he says. "It bothers him to have someone around who could stand up to him."

November 2002: Anelka rejects an international call-up for a friendly game against Yugoslavia and says that he will never play for France again.

August 2003: Anelka says that France coach Jacques Santini would have to "kneel down and apologise" for him to consider making an international return. The following March, Anelka publicly apologises to Santini.

January 2005: Joins Fenerbahce from Manchester City, only to declare six months later that he wants to return to England.

June 2010: Anelka is sent home from the World Cup in South Africa after clashing with France coach Raymond Domenech at half-time of their 2-0 loss to Mexico in the group phase. An explosive headline on the front page of French sports daily L'Equipe claims that Anelka told Domenech: "Go f*** yourself, you dirty son of a whore!" The France squad refuses to train in the wake of Anelka's exclusion, prompting a wave of international criticism.

August 2010: The French Football Federation bans Anelka for 18 matches over the incident at the World Cup. Anelka brands the FFF "clowns" and says he is "dying with laughter".

February 2012: Claims that he has been frozen out of the first team at Chelsea by coach Andre Villas-Boas. "Ever since I was punished, they put me with the youngsters," he says. "I've got all the kit and equipment that professionals have, but they put me in a separate changing room. That's football for you."

June 2012: Argues with a Shanghai Shenhua supporter after refusing to make a customary bow to fans after a game for the Chinese club.

December 2013: Creates a media storm after celebrating a goal in West Brom's 3-3 draw at West Ham United by making a 'quenelle' salute. The gesture is associated with a French comedian, Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, who has been prosecuted for anti-Semitism.

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